Very close, Jay.

In the days prior to self contained cartridges, pistols used cap and ball rounds. Supposedly it was Bill Hickock's weapon of choice until his death.The openings in the cylinder were filled with gun powder. A ball was forced down into each chamber of the cylinder. A percussion cap was fitted at the base of each chamber in the cylinder. When the gun was fired the firing pin hit the percussion cap, and ignited the powder firing the ball. When the hammer struck the percussion cap it crushed it. Sometimes the crushed percussion cap failed to drop out, and jammed the pistol when the gun was cocked to advance the next round.

The gun was drawn back into the upright position to allow the spent percussion cap to drop out of the pistol, prevent jamming the gun and allow the next round to rotate into position.

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